Whiz kids floor the house with standing ovation at Goafest 2014

Would you listen to a 14-year old and a 12-year old at any event? What if they were co-founders and president and CEO too. That’s what happened at Goafest as brothers Shravan and Sanjay Kumaran of Go Dimensions took to the stage and spoke of their success in the very competitive app world.

In the entire history of Goafest, Shravan Kumaran, President and Co-founder, Go Dimensions and Sanjay Kumaran, CEO & Co-founder, Go Dimensions are probably the youngest speakers to be invited to speak. At 14 and 12 years respectively the brothers, who founded the company two years ago, not only managed to get the house down but also got the entire audience on their feet to applaud the achievements of India’s youngest app developers.

Aptly talking on the topic Imagining Possibilities, the company currently develops apps for the android and iOS and will soon also have apps for the Windows platform as well. When the youngsters’ father introduced them to desk-top computers, little did he realise the swift progress both his kids would make from learning basic programming to developing apps.

“We felt that the mobile platform has a lot of power and will grow a lot. So we started developing apps for the android platform first and then on the iOS platform, “ said Sanjay Kumaran. However, the brothers released their first app on the iOS platform after testing more than 150 test applications. Shravan Kumaran explained, “Although we initially started with Android, we submitted our first app for iOS. On Android the app is on store within hours of submission but iOS has a rigid process where they check each app in detail and see how good the app is.” And the boys passed this test with flying colours, as not only were their apps approved within a week (it usually takes between one-four weeks) but was also rated highly.

The brothers say that for most people innovation means big ideas with global impact. But the brothers have a different take on this too, Sanjay says, “We think innovation is a small idea that changes the way people think.” While stressing that the time for innovation is now, they also look at innovation as In-Now-Vation.

How Do They Do It

The five-step strategy that they employ is

1. Requirement: Finding out the requirement of the customer and then developing the app.
2. Design: A storyboard is then developed of the idea to see how the app works and what all is needed to help take it forward.
3. Coding
4. Testing: The plethora of the devices available in the market makes this the toughest stage as the app is tested on multiple gadgets to make sure it is compatible with all devices.
5. Deployment: This is the final step takes about a month and Shravan jokes that the rule book of Apple is bigger than the constitution of United States of America makes it tough to submit to Apple.

Go Dimensions Apps

Here are the apps built by the brothers

Catch Me Cop: Rated 4.5/5 on app lab store

The first app from the stable has five levels has a con trying stay ahead of a cop, with the speed of cop increasing after every level. With absolutely no marketing, the app saw 1,000 downloads on day one.

Alphabet Board: Rated 5/5 on app lab store

On their mother’s prodding, the brother developed an educational app to help kids learn the alphabets. And as to how effective was the app, Shravan proudly says that their cousin learnt the alphabets in five hours flat.

Prayer Planet: Rated 4/5 on app lab store

The idea for this came when on a trip to Boston their flight hit turbulence and realisation struck that the idol of their deity was in their checked in luggage. Showing ingenuity, the boys had developed a prayer app and submitted it even before they left US shores.

Colour Palette: Rated 5/5 on app lab store

An upgraded version of their earlier educational app, this one helps children navigate the world of colours with cool features and also tests them on what they have learnt

Emergency Booth: Rated 4.5/5 on app lab store

Ever found it difficult to get through emergency numbers in a time of crisis? With this app, you are just two clicks away from getting through to an emergency line. The speciality of this app is that it can be customised to include names of near and dear and is supported in 14 countries.

Super Hero JetPack EI5: Rated 4/5 on app lab store

This app helps you compete with your friend; initially named Super Hero EI5, this app did not get the desired numbers. After some analytics, a name change was done and an update sent. Result was 200 per cent increase in downloads the following day.

Car Racing HD:Rated 4.5/5 on app lab store

This app saw 2,000 downloads on its debut and made it way to Apple’s top 300 apps. Using tilting features to make the car move ensured another hit

Till date, the apps from Go Dimensions have been downloaded more than 60,000 times from over 60 countries with Catch Me Cop remaining the top pick

Finally, Shravan and Sanjay talked about their goal which is to help all the children in the world by donating 15 per cent of their earnings to charity.